It seems that relations between Toto Wolff and Christian Horner haven't improved much in 2022.
Last season, Mercedes boss Wolff and his opposite number at Red Bull became embroiled in a bitter feud as Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen battled for the world title. Horner regularly taunted the Austrian during the season, who in turn accused his foe of behaving like he was in 'Hollywood'.
Things came to a head in a controversial Abu Dhabi Grand Prix in December, which Hamilton needed to win to claim an unprecedented eighth world title. He seemed set to achieve that as he held a comfortable lead over Verstappen, before the deployment of a late safety car.
Under pressure from Horner, FIA race director Michael Masi altered his initial instructions, and safety car rules, in order to allow one final lap of racing. That allowed the Dutchman the chance to overtake the Mercedes man on the final lap and claim the title.
The Silver Arrows were incensed by what transpired, and subsequently launches two separate protests. Both were dismissed, and despite initially serving notice of intent to appeal, Wolff and co reluctantly dropped that course of action four days later.
The Netflix Drive to Survive series as further lifted the lid on the tempestuous relationship between the pair, although as of yet they are yet to publicly fall-out in this campaign. Indeed, Wolff's focus will be primarily on the struggles of his team as they continue to be off the pace.
A picture take ahead of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix though suggests they're hardly best of friends either. Team principals from nine F1 teams and CEO Stefano Domenicali all attended a dinner on Friday - with the only absentee being Aston Martin's Mike Krack.
And noticeably, the two rivals couldn't have sat further apart. Wolff was right up on the front of the table, with Horner at the far end - and the opposite side for good measure.
Domenicali was sat bang in the middle, so at least there was a mediator if any verbals between the pair did fly across the table. The image was greeted with amusement on social media, as F1 fans spotted the obvious.
@landocherry wrote: "My favourite thing about this photo is Toto Wolff and Christian Horner sitting as far away as possible from each other," while @DSORacing also noted their positioning.
"I think that Horner and Wolff should be more together at that dinner to make it more lively," he wrote. "I see them very stiff." @PaparazziF1 added: "Do you notice Horner and Wolff far away from each other? Lol."
It's Horner who will undoubtedly be the happier of the pair heading into Sunday's Grand Prix, with Verstappen on pole having won the Saturday Sprint Race. Hamilton meanwhile, will only start 14th, with team-mate George Russell in 11th.
